Machine



,-(1\|'.0 Model.) 6 Sheets-Shet 1.

-Z. T. FRENCH -& W. O. MEYER.

LEATHER GOUGING MACHINE.

188881.994. Patented May 1. 1.888.

N. PETERS. Photo-Lilhognphen'waxhingmn, o. c.

6 Sheets--Sheet 3.

Z. T. FRENCH & W. 0. MEYER. LEATHER GOUGING MACHINE.

Patel ted May 1, 1888.

(No Mode l.)

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WITNEEEEE Wrfiemh @wv 5a N. PETERS, Fhowuxhn m mr. wasnin m D. C,

(No Model.) 6 Sheets-Sheet 4.

Z. T. FRENCH & W.. C; MEYER.

' LEATHER GOUGING MACHINE. No. 381,994.

Pate'ntd May 1, 1888.

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WITNESSES,

INVENTEIRS,

(No Model.) v I e SheetsSheet 5.

Z. TERENCE & W., G. MEYER.

LEATHER GOUGING MACHINE. No. 381,994.

Patented May 1, 1888.

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(No Model.) 6 Sheets sheet 6.

z. T. FRENCH & W. 0. MEYER.

LEATHER GOUGING MACHINE- No. 381,994. PatenteM/[a 1., 1888.

Mew 607 s 1 Z W TF6 070' N. PETERS PhowLilhognphar. Washinglon D. C,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ZACHARY T. FRENCH AND WILLIAM C. MEYER, OF BOSTON, MASSACHU- SETTS.

LEATHER-GOUGING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 381,994, dated May 1,1888.

Application filed April 22, 1887. Serial No. 235,770. (No model.)

county of Suffolk, and State of Massachusetts,

haveinvented an Improvement in Gouging-Ma chines, of which the followingdescription, in

the bed, the number of movements preferably l wheel, b, which engages atoothed wheel, b, 1

connection with the accompanying drawings,

is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing likeparts.

This invention has for its object to construct a machine for gouging orremoving from one side of apiece ofleather or other soft material asmall piece of any suitable shape or thickness, the machine being hereinespecially adapted to remove an oval-shaped piece, convex on one side,from a piece of leather which is cut of suitable shape to form abutton-hole piece for button-gaiters to thereby leave ovalshapeconcavities in the leather, substantially as represented in UnitedStates Patent No. 330,944, dated November 24, 1885.

In the form in which our'invention is herein shown as embodied, theleather to be gouged is supported upon a bed, is acted upon by a rotarycutter carried by a suitable shaft having a movement in the arc of acircle above or adjacent to the bed, the axis of the shaft for vibratingthe said cutter being substantially parallel with the bed, the movementof the cutter being such as to gouge or remove a small piece from theexposed side of the leather. The leather is fed forward intermittinglyby feeding devices, preferably made adjustable, to feed the materialforward more or less at each step, as required. Thebed on which thematerial is laid, and over which it is fed to be gouged, is madeyielding to compensate for inequalities of stock, suitable clampingdevices being employed to hold the material firmly in the path ofmovement of the cutter at the time the latter is moved over the bed togouge the material. or holdingdown devices are operated in such manneras to release the material intermittingly in order that it may be fedforward by the feeding device. Suitable mechanism is also provided forvarying thenumber of move ments or strokes of the feeding devicerequired to completely feed the button-hole strip over The clampingcorresponding with or determining the number of button-holes containedin the strip.

Figure 1 shows in front elevation a leathergouging machine embodyingthis invention; Fig. 2, a top view of the machine shown in Fig. 1, thearm A the head A, and the cutter to be described being broken out; Fig.3, a left-hand end view of the machine shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 4, a detailof the rotary cutter; Fig. 5, a vertical section on the line m m, Fig.1, of the bed over which the material is fed; Figs. 6, 7, and 8, detailsof the actuating-cams to be described; Fig. 9, a horizontal section ofthe adjusting device for varying the movement of the feeding device,shown on a some- What smaller scale. Figs. 10 to 24, inclusive, showdetails of the clutch and controlling mechanism therefor, to bedescribed.

The main framework A, supported by the legs A, is of suitable shape tosupport the op- I crating parts.

The main drive-shaftA, having its bearing in suitable uprights of themain frame-work, has sleeved upon one end of it a rotatablecutter-carrying head composed of an arm, A, (see Figs. 1, 3, and 4,) andan enlarged recessed head, A. The shaft A within the head A has securedto it a bevel-gear, a, which meshes with a bevel gear, a, secured to ashort vertical shaft, a, having its bearing in the head A, the saidshaft having secured to it the-eutter a, herein shown as concave-convex,the cutter being rotated by the shaft A. The cutter-carrying head hasattached to it a sector, b engaged by a pivoted segment, b, (see Figs. 1and 3,) adapted to be vibrated by means hereinafter described,so that asthe shaft A is rotated to rotate the cutter a the cutter-earrying headmay be vibrated to move the cutter in the are of a circle about the saidshaft A as an axis.

The shaft A is provided with a worm, a, which engages a toothed wheel, asecured to a vertical shaft, a, carrying a bevel-gear, a which mesheswith the bevel-gear a, secured to the horizontal shaft A having itsbearing in the main frame-work of the machine.

The shaft A has sleeved upon it a toothed secured to the cam-shaft A,having its bearings in the main frame-work, the said shaft A havingsecured to it the hub B, provided with several cam grooves and surfaces,to be described. The toothed wheel b is driven by a suitable clutchmechanism, to be described.

One face of the hub B (see Fig. 7) is provided with a cam-groove, bwhich receives a stud, I) (see dotted lines, Figs. 1 and 3,) projectinglaterally from the toothed segment b, described as instrumental invibrating the cutter-carrying head, the said segmentbeing pivoted at itslower end to a stud projecting from the main frame-work.

The bed O,having a curved or coneaved top, upon which the material to begouged or severed is placed, has a shank or rod, A, which enters abracket or frame, A secured by bolts A to an arm, A secured to the mainframe work of the machine, the said shank or rod being surrounded byaspring, 2, one end of which bears against the frame A while theopposite end of the spring bears against a flange, 3, at or near theupper end of the rod A. The upper end of the rod A, as herein shown, isnot connected directly to the table, but rather to a block, 0, having atits upper surface a dovetailed groove, which receives a dovetailedblock, 0, attached to the bed proper. The grooved block 0 is preferablymade in two parts, as shown in Fig. 5, the part 0 being fixed to themain portion of the block by a set-screw, 4, so that the bed proper, C,may be removed easily and another bed proper having a curvedbearing-surface of different radius substituted. The block 0 is providedwith guide pins or studs 0, which enter sockets in the frame A The rod Ais locked in position to co-operate with the holding-down plate (2, tobe described, and firmly hold the material upon the bed by alocking-lever, c, pivoted at 0 (see Fig. 1,) one end of the said leverengaging the rod A the opposite end thereof being sustained by thespring 0, the lever having an adjustingstud, c which is struck atintervals by an arm or hub, 0 loosely pivoted to a stud projecting fromthe frame-work, said arm 0 (shown separately in Fig. 14.) carrying aroller orstud, 0, (see dotted lines, Fig. 1,) located within the rangeof movement of the cam c of the hub B, so that at each revolution of thehub the lever 0 will be moved on its pivot to lift and lock the yieldingbed 0 firmly in position while the cutter acts to gouge orcut theleather or material being fed over the bed 0 beneath the holding-downplate d,secured to the upper ends of two rods, A A", sliding in hearingsin the frame A", said rods A A being connected to a rising and fallingyoke, A, the plate at being correspondingly made to rise and fall withrelation to the bed 0, to hold firmly in place any material laid uponthe said bed.

Two edge guides, d (V, composed of flat pieces of metal bent intoangular shape, (see Fig. 5,) are arranged to slide in grooved re-.cesses cut in or secured to the holding-down plated, one of the saidguides, as d, being made adjustable toward and from the bed 0 by aset-screw, 5, the other guide, d being continuously retained in contactwith one side of the bed 0, or some other fixed support, by a spring, d.The guide (1 may be adjusted to vary the distance from the edge of thematerial at which the cutter commences to enter, cut, or gouge thematerial, the guide cl readily yielding for different widths of materialpassing over the bed.

The holding-down plate (1 above the bed C is provided in this instancewith an opening of oval shape, as best shown in Fig. 2, through whichopening the rotary cutter a obtains access to the material upon the saidbed.

The yoke A is raised and lowered to cause the holding-down plate d toclamp the material upon the bed by means of a lever, e, pivoted on astud, e, held in a projection, e, of the main frame-work, one end of thesaid lever 6 engaging a stud, e projecting laterally from the yoke A,the opposite end of the said lever e being connected by an adjustableconnecting-rod, 6*, with an arm, 0 secured to one end of ahorizontalrock-shaft, e, having its bearing in the main frame, the said rock-shafthaving at its opposite end an arm, a, (see dotted lines, Fig. 3,)provided with a stud, a (see Figs. 1 and 2,)wh1ch enters a cam groove,0, (see Fig. 6,) cut in the face of the hub B opposite the camgroove b.

It will be seen that as the hub B rotates, the rock-shaft a" may beoperated to raise and lower the yoke A. A turn-buckle or nut, e, isemployed for adjusting the connecting-rod e to vary the extent ofvertical movement of the holding-down plate (1.

The object of the cutter herein described is to remove from rather thickleather or material small pieces thereof between the buttonhole slits,in order that the button-hole piece made of thick material may besufficiently flexible to be easily manipulated by the wearer. Theleather or material to be so cut by the cutter a is fed upon the table 0from a bevelfaeed rest or plate, 9, adj ustably secured to an arm, 9, bya set-screw, g". The button-hole slits cut in the material at properdistances apart are engaged by a finger, f, loosely pivoted to a stud,f, (see dotted lines, Fig. 1,) projecting from an arm, f secured to ashort shaft, f, by suitable clamping devices, herein shown as a splitcollar, f held together by a. screw, f. The finger f is held down by aspring, f encircling the studf and bearing against a stud, 20,projecting laterally from the finger. The shaft f is rocked by an arm, ffixed to it, said arm f being connected with an arm, f pivoted at 6 toan upright, D, by a eonnecting-rod,f". That end of the connectingrod fjoined with the arm f is provided with a stud, 7, which enters acurvedslot, 8, cut in the armf, so that the point of connection between theconnecting-rodf and the rod f 7 may be varied to vary the throw 0f IO fengages one after' another of the buttonhole slits of the material whenthe plated is in its elevated'positiom. As the finger is moved forwardthe material will be moved over the bed 0. The holding-down plate (1then clamps the material, after which the finger returns to its normalposition, and lastly the rotating cutter a operates.

The movement of the finger f is such that it may enter the button-holeslits in succession; but if it is desired, the feeding-finger may bemade to engage the material directly and move it forward intermittingly,so that we do not desire to limit ourselves to the particularconstruction of the feeding-finger herein shown; nordo we desire tolimit the invention and the particular devices herein shown for movingor operating the feeding devices.

To feed the material forward adefinite number of stepsthat dependingupon the number of button-holes contained in the strip-we employ acontrolling mechanism which permits the machine to operate to gouge astrip of leather a definite number of times, the said controllingmechanism being adjustable to vary the number of times.

The controlling mechanism herein shown consists of a frictionratchet-clutch mechanism mounted upon the shaft A which is controlled bya treadle. The clutch mechanism herein shown (see Figs. 9, 10, and 11,and 15 to 21, inclusive) consists, essentially, of a recessed hub, 13,splined to the shaft A and another recessed hub, i', mounted loosely onsaid shaft, the said recessed hub t" being the sleeve to which thetoothed wheel or gear b is fixed. A collar or ring, 7?, having asuitablestop projection, i surrounds the projecting shank portion of-the hub orsleeve 2" between the two hubs. The ring i is provided with a pin, t,and the hub or sleeve 2" is provided with a similar pin, i (see Figs. 11and 20,) these two pins being connected by a spring, 2'. Suitablerollers or balls, 6', (see Figs. 10 and 19,) are interposed between theshank portion of the clutch and the hub 'i, so that when the ring 11 isreleased by an arm,'n, to disengage the stop projection i the spring 13will act to move or start the said ring sufficiently forward to causethe rollers or balls to move upward upon the inclined surface of theshank portion of the hub and be wedged between the said shank portionand the hub i, to thereby rigidly connect the two hubs together. Thisclutch mechanism we do not herein claim, as the same is not of ourinvention; and while We prefer to employ the form herein shown, it isobvious that we may employ any other well-known form of clutch mechanismcapable of accomplishing the results desired.

To start the machine, a treadle-rod, 25, (see Figs. 1, 3, 9, 13, and24,) is depressed, moving the lever m, secured to the shaft m, saidshaft having secured to its opposite end an arm, m which is connectedwith the arm n by a connecting-link, m, said arm n being pivoted to astud passing through the projection n and normally lying in the path ofrotation of the ring z" of the clutch mechanism, to thereby engage theprojection ?l of the said clutch mechanism. The hub of the arm at isprovided with a pin or stud, 12, (see Figs. 9 and 22,) which enters aslot in one end of a lever, 0, pivoted at o, the opposite end of thesaid lever having a pin, 13, against which bears the outer end of thetwo feed-dogs o 0 having sharp teeth-like portions which engage and movearatchet-toothed bar, 0, sliding horizontally in suitable guideways. Theslot in the lever 0, which receives the stud 12, is made diagonal, sothat as the hub is rocked by de-' pression of the treadle t the lever 0will be moved to permit both feed-dogs to engage the ratchet-toothed barOne of the feeding-dogs, as 0 is pivoted to the frame-work andcontrolled by a spring, and the other feed-dog, as o", is looselypivoted on a stud, 0*, carried by one arm of a bell-crank lever, 0 theother arm of the said bell-crank lever carrying a roller or stud, 0",which bears against the cam-surface 76 of one member, as t", of theclutch mechanism, such cam-surface comprising a'boss or projection tomove the lever once during each revolution of the clutch, so that as theclutch mechanism rotates the bell-crank lever will be moved to therebymove the engaging feed-dog 0 forward, that it may engage the next toothof the ratchettoothed bar, the other feed-dog,o ,at such time holdingthe ratchet-toothed bar against the tension of the spring -s,continuously acting to return the ratchet-toothed bar to its normalposition. The bell-crank lever o is acted upon by a spring, o A shortbar or plate, a, (see Figs. 3 and 13,) is adjustably secured to theratchet-toothed slidebar p, said plate having at its lower side or edgea guiding portion comprising inclined surfaces at each side, and aspring-controlled or yielding retaining-finger, u, is attached to therear side of the arm m, the outer end of said finger having at each sidean inclined bearing-surface and bearing against one or the other side ofthe guide por tion of the plate a, depending-upon which way the saidplate is moving. As the arm m is depressed and the ratchet-toothed barmoved ahead, say one tooth, by the feed-dog .0 the plate a attached tosaid bar is consequently moved ahead and over the fingeru attached tosaid arm m, and said finger bearing at such time against the outerinclined side of the guide portion of the plate u, the arm in will thusbe held depressed without further aid of the treadle until the plate ais moved by the finger u, when the said finger returns to its normalposition with the arm m by the aid of the spring 50. (See dotted lines,Fig. 13.) The inner side of the bar a being inclined, as described, soalso the outer side of the retaining-finger u, permits the plate to andattached ratchet-toothed slide-bar p to return to their normal positionby means of the spring 8, as soon as the said plate has passed the bar,it being understood that the feed-dogs are both disengaged by thepivoted lever 0 when the arm m returns to its normal position.

By the employment of the bar or plate u and the spring-controlledretaining-finger u the lever or, once depressed by the treadle 15, maybe held depressed as long as the said spring-controlled retaining-fingeru is retained by the bar or plate a and no longer.

It will thus be seen that by securing the bar u to the ratchet-toothedslide-bar p at different points the retainingfinger will be released atdifferent times, or by making the bar it of different lengths thisfeature could be accomplished.

By the controlling mechanism herein described the treadle may be oncedepressed, the material automatically fed over the yielding bed, clampedby the holding-down plate (I, acted upon by a rotary cutter, andreleased, to be again fed as many times as the ratchettoothed bar 1) maybe moved tooth by tooth until the retaining-finger has passed by the bara, or has been otherwise released to permit the lever m, controlled bythe treadle t, to resume its normal position.

A spring-controlled detent, r, (see Fig. 1,) is mounted in a hub, 7",said spring-controlled detent entering a socket in the face of thetoothed wheel I), and adapted to be released against the tension of thespring by a finger, r, secured to the shank of the detent and capable ofbeing rotated and locked against the face of the hub r, so that theshaft A may be rotated independently by a hand-wheel, or by power, ifdesired.

By the construction and arrangement of the driving shaft with relationto the others being driven it will be understood that while thedrive-shaft rotates continuously, to thereby continually rotate thecutter at a high speed, the shaft operating the clutch also rotatescontinuously, and the devices controlled by or deriving their motionthrough the interposition of the clutch mechanism of the constructionherein shown, or its equivalent, operate at the will of the operator.

We claim 1. In a leather-gouging machine, a bed over which the leatheror other material is passed, combined with a revolving cutter and anoscillating carrying-head for the cutter, substantially as described.

2. In a machine for gouging leather, the bed over which the leather orother material is fed, combined with a cutter, its shaft anda swiveledor pivoted head carrying the said cutter and lying in a plane parallelwith the bed, whereby the cutter may revolve on its own axis, and alsomove in the arc of a circle above or near the bed, substantially asdescribed.

3. In a machine for gouging leather or other material, the bed having aeonvexed surface to receive the material, combined with a revolvingcutter, and means, substantially as described, for moving in the arc ofa circle above the convex-surfaced bed to remove a piece having oneeonvexed side from the exposed side of the material, substantially asdescribed.

4. The bed to receive the material and the rotary cutter, with means,substantially as described, for moving itin a curved are over the bed,combined with an intermittent feeding device for automaticallyfeedingthe material forward, substantially as described.

5. In a leather-gouging machine, the bed to receive the material, thecutter, and means, substantially as described, for revolving it,combined with a pivoted oscillating head carrying the cutter, and meansfor oscillating the said head, substantially as described, whereby therevolving cutter is moved in the arc of a circle adjacent to the bed, asset forth.

6. The bed and feeding device to feed the material over the bed, and aholding-down device to hold the material firmly, combined with a cutterarranged to travel over the bed, by means, substantially as described,to remove a small chip from the exposed side of the material,substantially as described.

.7. The yielding bed, a locking device for it, the holding-down device,means, substantially as described, for moving it, and an intermittentfeeding device arranged to feed the ma terial forward between the bedand the holding-down device when the latter is disengaged from the bed,combined with a cutter arranged to travel over the bed in a curved path,substantially as described.

8. The yielding bed-support and the removable bed proper having a curvedbearingsurface, combined with a holding-down plate, and the guidesarranged at each end of the bed proper, substantially as described.

9. In a leather-gouging machine, the bed to receive the material, therevolving cutter, and means, substantially as described, for moving in acurved are over the bed, combined with a holding-down device for thematerial placed upon the bed, substantially as described.

10. The yielding bed-support and the holding-down plate having anoval-shaped opening therein, combined with an adjustable guide, (1, andthe yielding guide d, substantially as described.

11. The yielding bed upon which the material is placed and theholding-down plate, and adjusting mechanism, substantially as described,for moving the holding-down plate to retain the material firmly upon thebed and compensate for different thickness of stock, substantially asdescribed.

12. In a leather-gouging machine, the bed, holding-down device, andcutter, combined with a feeding-finger, and means, substantially asdescribed, moved by the cam-grooved hub for actuating thefeeding-finger, and adjusting means for varying the throw of thefeedingfinger, substantially as described.

13. In a leather-gouging machine, the bed and oscillating cutter,combined with means, substantially as described, controlled by the shaftA for permitting the cutter to operate, and the clutch mechanism forthrowing said means into engagement with the shaft A and a controllingmechanism, substantially as described, for automatically disengaging theclutch mechanism after the said shaft A has made a certain number ofrevolutions, as set forth.

14. In a leather-gouging machine, the yielding bed, the holding-downdevice for holding the material firmly upon the bed, and an intermittentfeeding device, substantially as described, combined with a rotarycutter carried by a swivel or pivoted carrying-head,whereby the cutteris given two movementsviz., about its own axis and about an axisparallel with the surface of the bed-substantially as described.

15. In a leather-gouging machine, the bed, and the intermittent feedingdevice, substantially as described, for feeding the materialintermittingly over the bed, combined with a cutter, its shaft, theswiveled or pivoted carrying-head for the shaft and cutter, whereby thecutter is both rotated about its own axis and moved in a curved pathabove the bed, and means for vibrating or swinging the cuttercarryinghead back and forth, substantially as described.

16. In a leather gouging machine, the leather cutting and feedingdevices, combined with a controlling mechanism comprising a clutchmechanism and means for releasing it, the lever 0, controlled by saidmeans for throwing the feed-dogs into engagement with theratchet-toothed bar means for moving the ratchet-toothed bar 1) forwardstep by step, and adjusting mechanism for automatically stopping therotation of the clutch mechanism and for returning the ratchet-toothedbar 12 to its normal position at any time desired, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ZAOHARY T. FRENCH. WILLIAM G. MEYER.

Witnesses:

G. W. GREGORY, B. J. NOYES,

